Bittersweet
by melodiewrites
Summary: Yumi reflects on the ups and downs of her relationship and everything in between. Yumi-centric. UxY.  ONESHOT


**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters and places belong to AnteFilms and MoonScoop. Sadly, I don't own anything.

_**A/N:**__ Just a fluffy UxY fic. Teehee. :) Too much Code Lyoko on my mind._

**Warning: **Some angst ahead (only a little, but it's still there).

**Summary:** Yumi reflects on the ups and downs of her relationship and everything in between. Yumi POV.

**.**

**x**

**.**

**Bittersweet**

I tug nervously at the ends of my curled (I can't _believe_ I let Aelita and my mother talk me into curling my hair!) black hair and stare at the mirror in front of me; bewildered, anxious eyes stare right back. I nibble gently on my bottom lip – something that I always do when I'm nervous – and Aelita slaps my arm.

"You're going to ruin the perfect make-up job that probably cost your parents a fortune," she chides in a gentle voice. "Although, I can probably tell you that he won't want to taste your lipstick anyways." She smiles devilishly at me and it makes me wonder what happened to the sweet, innocent pinkette from Lyoko. "Now stop moving around while I reapply your lipstick for you – and _don't chew it off this time._"

"I'm not ready for this," I mumble as I squirm restlessly in my seat, despite Aelita's earlier orders. I run a hand gently through the satiny material of my white dress and stare up at Aelita. "How'd you do it? This is so nerve-wrecking!" I wince as she forces my head still using her forefinger and her thumb.

"Will you _calm down_?" she asks. "This isn't the end of the world, Yumi! In fact, you should be happy; do you have any idea how many girls would _die_ to be in your position? I can't believe you're the same girl who faced X.A.N.A. with us. You've battled Krabs and Kankrelats, but you're scared of walking down an aisle? You're being utterly ridiculous, Yumi." She pulls my hand away from my hair, in hopes of preserving the nice curls that she spent hours creating.

"I'm wearing four-inch heels, Aelita. I don't _do_ heels."

Aelita lets out an exasperated sigh. "Yumi. Heels. Are. A. Necessity. How many times have you gone over that with your mother? Now turn around so I can zipper you, okay?" she gently pushes me out of my seat and twirls me around so that my back is facing her.

"Aelita, I'm not ready!" I exclaim as I grab fistfuls of white silk in my trembling hands; anything to help me calm my nerves.

"You've known him for the longest time, Yumi. You've dated him for six years! How much longer do you want to wait? I went through the same thing just two months ago – and I haven't dated Jeremie _nearly_ as long as you've dated him!" She puts the finishing touch on the light make-up that is covering my face and twirls me around so I can get a good look in the mirror. "Granted, our relationship never _was_ as complicated as yours was."

"Not. Helping," I say through gritted teeth. She's right though; her relationship with Jeremie has always been so idyllic – perfect in every shape, way or form. From what I can see, they still haven't had their first lovers' spat! They're so in love with each other that it makes me feel like my relationship just isn't good enough – "Oh god, I think I'm going to hurl." I clutch the vanity as I gently sit myself down onto the chair.

"Yumi, you've had your ups and your downs – but doesn't everybody? No relationship can be 100% perfect," she rubs my back comfortingly. "The only thing that matters is that you love him, and he loves you – and you guys made it to this point. What more can you ask for?" Ironic, isn't it, that Aelita's giving me advice on love? _I_ wasn't the one who had been trapped in the virtual world of Lyoko for years on end, and yet, Aelita seemed to know more about love than I did.

But she's right. We've had our ups and our downs, haven't we? We've had our good times and our bad times – but we've always made it through together, alive and well.

**-x-**

I remember the day that I first saw you. I was 14 and you were 13. But we still attended the same martial arts class together. I remember walking in late that day and wondering who the hell you were, and the first words that you said to me left me thinking that you were some arrogant, sexist jerk. You know, the kind who think women can't do anything because, well, because we're female. But what did you expect? You _did_ make a very derogatory comment that day. Do you have any idea how angry I was when you called me a "beginner"? But then again, you weren't exactly laughing when I knocked you off your feet, were you? You'll never understand how good I felt when I defeated you. I proved you wrong, didn't I?

And then you came back the next day. Well, let's just say we got along better that day then we did during the first – at the very least, you treated me as an equal. You won that time – but at least you put in your best effort. And then that giant "electric thing" attacked us and you got me involved in your little virtual world. Although it was probably my own fault for wanting to know what was going on. Not that I'm complaining. I'll never forget that day; not only did I get to know you better, I also met my three best friends.

**-x-**

I was 15 and you were 14 when we finally managed to defeat X.A.N.A.; we spent almost a whole year fighting against him. Sometimes I still sit at home and think about everything that we've been through together, the dangers that we faced; we risked our lives every time we went to Lyoko, and sometimes I think about the possibility that I could have lost you and regret that I never told you how I felt sooner. But I do love you, and you know that now. We've helped each other out more times than I can count; how many times did you have to catch me, how many times did you have to keep me from falling into the digital sea? How many times have we saved each other's lives every time there was a X.A.N.A. attack? A hundred? A thousand? We'll probably never know.

That year was probably the happiest and saddest year of my life. We had so many great times together didn't we? From constantly humiliating Sissi, to Odd and his stupid jokes (that we laughed at anyways, because we're such great friends), to materializing Aelita, we've all made so many great memories together. Not just the two of us, but even the group as a whole – hours and hours of detentions together never stopped us from doing what we did best. And I think our little adventures in Lyoko only helped pull us closer together in our tight-knit group of friends. You guys were the best friends that I could ever ask for. You especially. I enjoyed your company. Maybe a little too much. But we had good times together and we've always been there for each other. You were always there for me when my parents were arguing and I was always there for you when your father was a little too harsh on you.

We've had our moments – remember that time Odd and I switched bodies? It wasn't fun on my part, but I'm sure you, Jeremie and Aelita had a good laugh about it. I still haven't killed Odd yet, for that picture. Remind me to do that sometime soon. And watching you play Romeo in the school play – that was _priceless_. We laughed so hard about it afterwards, much to your dismay. But I have to thank you; you _did_ manage to help me bring my parents back together, and that was the best thing I could have asked for that night. I think it might have been that night that I actually started feeling something besides friendship for you; do you know how difficult it was trying to deal with the fact that I was having these … feelings for my best friend? Because it was scary – everything was changing and I didn't like it.

These feelings … they were probably the cause of most of our arguments; to be honest, I think we were both too overprotective of each other, too scared to let the other slip out of our hands, but still too proud to admit our feelings. Looking back now, I think it was pretty stupid of us. I still remember our biggest argument – do you remember that time you started hanging out with Emily? I was so scared that I had lost you, that you'd found somebody else. I came so close to telling you how I felt that time, but I didn't – you were with Emily and you were happy – what right did I have to ruin that for you?

Even as the Emily problem cleared up, more and more problems seemed to come between us. Mostly it was just Sissi and her immature teasing, but then William came along as well. I saw how angry he made you, how much you hated that I was being friendly with him. But to tell you the truth, I was never really taken by him, not when I had everything that I would ever want standing right in front of me. But I always felt the need to prove myself to you, to prove that I was _worth_ something, because I always thought that I would never be good enough for you. I made it clear to him from the start that I wasn't interested – he just never listened. I flirted with him because seeing you angry gave me confidence that I might have meant something to you. It was mean of me and every time I did it, fear curdled in my stomach – what if I took it too far and you never wanted to see me again? But you did the same thing with Sissi, and it hurt; I knew that I had no right to blame you, but that didn't keep me from being angry with you.

We had so many arguments because of Sissi and William – I remember them all clearly. Every single argument left me scared; you'll never know this, but I always went home and cried afterwards. It was frightening, thinking that any of the arguments could have taken it too far and broken our friendship for good. I'd become so accustomed to having you around that the thought of _not_ having you there when I most needed you terrified me. But we always made it through. Always.

I think we always knew how we felt about each other, but neither of us wanted to make the first move. Do you know why I never said anything to you? I was scared, scared of rejection, scared that it might ruin our beautiful friendship, but most of all, I was scared that we would end up like my parents. You can't grow up listening to your parents argue and not think that you'll someday grow up to be like that. I was so scared that we would do the same thing to our children, that we were going to ruin our child's life because we wouldn't be able to get along. But I guess I should have known better – we had our disagreements, but we've always been the best of friends.

**-x-**

"Come on, Yumi!" Aelita calls from the doorway. She has just finished helping me put some final touches on my dress and we are just about ready to go. She comes back inside when she notices that I am not following close behind her. "Yumi, this is _not_ the time to be sitting here, sulking. He's waiting for you."

"Aelita, I don't think I can do this." I clutch her arm, pulling her into the seat next to me.

"Six years, Yumi, six years," she reminds me. "Six years is a big deal. I only dated Jeremie for three."

"You guys were sort of together before that; you just didn't want a relationship to get in the way of your studies. We all knew that you guys would end up together anyways." I give her a pointed look. "Besides, your relationship has always been smooth – no arguments, nothing."

"You've been his best friend for four years and his girlfriend for six; this isn't going to change anything." She takes the tiara from my shaking hands and places it atop my head before grabbing my hand. "Now come on, everybody's waiting." She pulls me off the stool and onto my trembling feet.

I stare at Aelita with a bewildered expression. My childhood fears had never really gone away, which might help to explain why I was so terrified when I should have been the happiest woman on earth.

Aelita sighs again. "Yumi, think about X.A.N.A. Think about all those times that he saved you; think about how much fun you guys have when you're together. Don't think about anything else." She looks at me with her emerald eyes and says, "_Breathe_, Yumi, breathe."

I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding and stare at her helplessly. "I …. I …"

"Do you love him, or don't you?" her intuitive eyes bore into me. She's just being mean; she already knows my answer to that question.

"If this is supposed to help me calm down, it isn't helping," I mutter under my breath. "It just feels like it won't be the same anymore; we were so happy just being with one another. What if everything changes after this?"

"Yumi, look at Odd – he's been married for three years and he's still the dumb, arrogant idiot that he was when we were 14. The only thing that's different is the fact that he doesn't play around anymore. And has Sissi stopped being that spoiled, immature child that we used to know? No, she hasn't; marrying Odd hasn't changed her one bit – and it hasn't changed Odd, either. They still love each other just as much as they did before. Nothing is going to change, Yumi, especially not your feelings for each other." She gives me a gentle, reassuring pat on the back.

She's right. We love every single thing about each other; you can't date somebody for six years and not know that. This isn't going to change anything between us; we'll still be the same people, we'll still have the same relationship. I'll still love you, and you'll still love me. "Okay," I say, taking a shaky breath. "Okay, I think I can do this." I get up, wobbling slightly in my four-inch heels. Who would've thought that you would have grown so much? I swear I used to be nearly a whole head taller than you! And now? Now I can wear four-inch heels and still manage to be shorter.

"Good!" Aelita gives me a brilliant smile that seems to light up her entire face. "Trust me, everything will be just fine." She reaches over my head and readjusts my tiara for the umpteenth time before she is satisfied. She lifts the veil up and pulls it gently over my face. "You're beautiful," she whispers in my ear. "I don't think he'll be able to resist you."

I can practically hear the smirk in her voice, even though I can't see her face. I scowl. "_Not_ funny, Aelita."

She giggles girlishly as she pulls me towards the door and leads me down the hallway, to the church, where I'm sure everybody is waiting. I can hear the music playing already – this is it.

**-x-**

We danced around the idea or a relationship for three years. We were always something more than "just good friends", but we never really surpassed that awkward stage between friendship and something more.

**-x-**

I was 16 and you were 15 when my parents' arguments started getting more and more intense and they finally decided that they were going to get divorced. You were the first person that I called when I heard the news. You were next to me within minutes of ending our phone call; I was a crying, snivelling mess, but you were there to comfort me. You stayed with me that night, holding me close and whispering comforting words in my ears and I knew that it was impossible for anybody to love someone more than I loved you at that moment.

You were with me when my parents signed the forms and confirmed their divorce; you were there when they argued about who would get the children and who would get the house. You helped me take care of my younger brother when my parents forgot to pick him up from school and I was too much of a mess to think clearly. You put up with my incessant crying and you spent sleepless nights talking on the phone with me, comforting me. You were my lifeline; you kept me afloat through the storm and I loved you all the more for it.

**-x-**

I was 17 and you were 16 when Odd and Aelita decided to play a cruel joke on us. We were at my Christmas party when it happened – when Aelita and Odd decided that they wanted to play "Truth or Dare". I guess we were lucky that they never asked the inevitable question – but then again, we did our best to avoid choosing 'truth'. But this worked to their advantage too. Even now, I'm surprised at the level of evilness in Aelita. I'll admit, when she dared me to stand next to my Christmas tree for the rest of the game, I found it kind of weird – and my suspicions only grew when I saw them all snickering. And I had a fairly good idea what it was that they were up to when Odd dared _you_ to go stand next to me, but you were naïve and innocent and didn't sense anything amiss as you went to stand by me.

I remember their snickers when Odd told us to look up and I remember staring at the dangling mistletoe in mortification. I remember you staring at me in dismay and the others chanting '_Kiss, kiss, kiss!' _We knew the others wouldn't let us off without kissing – and so we did. It was awkward and sloppy and I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment. I remember my cheeks burning bright red as Odd hooted with laughter. We avoided each other for days after that. But I almost fell into the sea during one of our school's camping expeditions and you were there to save me, just like all those other times. And it was at that moment that we knew that no matter what happened, no matter how awkward things got between us, we would always be there for each other.

**-x-**

I was 18 and you were 17 when I graduated from Kadic. You came to my prom with me and we danced the night away; it was the perfect night to tell you how I felt – but I didn't, because I was scared, scared that our relationship wouldn't work out because we would be going to different schools. I wish I'd told you that night; I wish I'd said those three words. But I didn't, and sometimes I still sit at home, wondering if things might have turned out differently if I had.

I went to school at a local college not too far from Kadic and we always kept in touch through nightly phone calls. I guess I was never able to let you go; I didn't see you on a regular basis, and I missed you terribly. The only thing keeping me from going insane was hearing your voice over the phone every night. I was always scared that you would find a girlfriend while I was away, that you would meet somebody and finally realize that maybe I wasn't good enough. It never happened. Maybe you were waiting for me, like I was waiting for you.

**-x-**

I was 19 and you were almost 18 when it happened. I was away on vacation with my family and couldn't go to your prom with you, so you went with Emily. I was more mature then, but I couldn't help but be jealous, no matter how many times you told me that you guys were only going as friends. I wish I'd been there with you that night, then maybe I could've done something to help you, but I wasn't, and I was helpless to stop it. It was 2:42 a.m. when I received an urgent phone call from Odd, telling me that you were in a freak car accident. At first, I thought that it might have been Odd's idea of a stupid prank, but I heard the seriousness in his voice and I knew it was no joke.

I hastily scribbled a note to my parents and grabbed the first bus back to Paris; it was raining that night, so nobody could tell that I'd been crying. I arrived back in Paris after a couple of hours of sitting on a train and I made it to the hospital as fast as I could. I knew it was serious the minute I saw Odd's sombre face. None of us said anything to each other that night and the silence was comforting. Aelita and I cried quietly in a corner while Jeremie and Odd stared aimlessly off into space – we were still having a hard time accepting the fact that you might die; I guess, after facing off with X.A.N.A., we thought we were invincible.

It was two hours after I arrived that the doctor came out and told us that you were stable and that you would make it out alive – we were all able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. We all stayed for a couple more hours, just sitting there and watching as your chest rose and fell with every breath, revelling in the fact that you were going to live. They left, but I never once left your side (well, they _did_ drag me down to the cafeteria one or two times a day, but I wasn't able to stay away long). It took you five days to regain consciousness, but I'm just glad that you did.

I did a lot of thinking over those five days and I realized how stupid I was for not telling you how I felt; I could have lost you that night and you would have never known that I loved – _love_ – you. It never really occurred to me how fragile humans really are – the reality of your accident made me realize that we could have lost any one of us on Lyoko. I resolved to tell you that I loved you the minute that you were fully recovered.

I remember throwing my arms around your neck and sobbing out your name the minute you sat up. I remember you wrapping your thin arms around me, squeezing me weakly around the shoulders, reassuring me that you would be fine. I didn't believe you, of course. But then again, who would? You'd just been through a car accident and you wanted me to believe you were_ fine_. I slapped you and you yelped – _proof_ that you were NOT fine. Since when did you become such a wimp?

You made a full recovery, and they discharged you from the hospital right after your birthday. Aelita, Odd and Jeremie planned a late birthday/welcome home party for you (No, I had nothing to do with it nor did I have _any _idea what was going on. No, I would not have told you what was happening even if I _did_ know what was going on) and we all had the time of our lives. I was especially happy that you were finally out of the hospital and I told you so. And you smiled at me with those twinkling chocolate eyes of yours, and I thought I was going to melt.

**-x-**

"Are you ready?" my father whispers to me from my right. He offers me a comforting smile when he sees my shaking hands. "You should be happy, Yumi. This is your big day, after all."

I nod absently; nothing he says is going to change the fact that I'm nervous as hell at the moment. The organ starts to play and the familiar music drifts through the entire church. I look around, and I can see Hiroki, standing with Jeremie and Odd. I can see him smirking at me, an '_I told you so'_ kind of smirk and I resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him. So he had been right from the very beginning, he doesn't have to rub it in my face today of all days! Can't he wait until after the ceremony to do it, when I'm _not_ a nervous wreck?

He's making his way down the aisle now, with his girlfriend at his side, and I smirk as well; he and his girlfriend have been dating for three years – any day now, and I'll be the one smirking at him when _he's_ a nervous wreck. Of course, he won't have the issue of high heeled shoes to deal with, so that's a lot off his plate automatically.

I smile at Odd as he walks past me and gives me his trademark grin. He gives me a thumbs-up before taking his place next to Sissi and making his way down the aisle. Those two have been married for three years (yes, I know bridesmaids are generally unwed, but it's not exactly a necessity – and I don't exactly have that many close friends, especially those who are girls, and Sissi is probably the closest thing), and I still fail to see how it worked out between them. Maybe it was the whole opposites attract thing …

Finally, I see Aelita and Jeremie step up and I know it's almost time. Again, I don't care if Aelita's married – she's my best friend, my sister, practically and I refuse to have another maid of honour. She's always been there for me, maybe not as much as you, but she's there, and that's more than I could ever ask for. As they take their respective places next to the rest of bridesmaids and groomsmen, my father holds his arm out to me and I take a deep breath as I grab it. This is it.

**-x-**

I was 19 and you were 18 when I told you. It was your birthday/welcome home party on the roof of Kadic (Odd is an idiot) and it was loud and hectic. Odd was singing his famous "Break Break Break Dance" and people were dancing. I thought maybe nobody would notice if I stole you for a couple of minutes. We spent the whole afternoon together, dancing, talking and just being together – and it felt perfect. It was around 8:00 that night, when people were still busy partying and having fun, that I asked you to take a walk with me.

Of course, you didn't deny me; you never do. We snuck out of the party unnoticed and I breathed a sigh of relief as we exited the school and everything turned quiet. You took my hand and we walked through the forest, taking a trail that we'd taken a million times before – only this time, we weren't in danger.

We stopped at the manhole – the same one that we used to go to every time there was a X.A.N.A. attack and we sat down by a tree next to it, and I think it was the nostalgia, but I started crying. Maybe I just missed hanging out with you guys every day, or maybe I missed being able to go to Lyoko. You asked me what was wrong and we talked. We sat under a tree, watching the sun set, and just talked – about Lyoko, about defeating X.A.N.A., about life in general. You made me feel better – I've always liked that about you, how you can always make me feel like I'm worth something.

And I kissed you, full on the lips, just as the sun set below the horizon. I'll never forget the way you stared at me, astonished, or the sound of your voice when you told me that you loved me, for the first time. You'll probably never know this, but you made me the happiest girl on earth when those three words left your lips.

'_I love you.'_

And of course, I told you that I loved you too – because I did, with all my heart. We never did go back to your party that night, did we? They must have been so surprised to find the birthday boy missing when they went to cut the cake, but we didn't care. We spent the night under the tree by the manhole, just enjoying each other's presence; we talked about it too – us, I mean, and our relationship, why we've never said anything before. And looking back now, I still can't believe how naïve we were – all the signs were right in front of us; we were just too thick to notice them. It took us four years to get us to this point, and it was well worth it.

If I recall, the others were _pissed_ when we got back to the party the next morning; they were still waiting for us on the top of the roof. Odd had fallen asleep on a bench, but that didn't stop him from waking up and yelling at you for leaving your own party. It's funny, isn't it, the way that they instantly forgave us when they noticed our linked hands – I guess they were waiting for this just as much as we were. They congratulated us and Odd declared a group hug – and we did. You guys are the best friends that _anybody_ could ever ask for. You especially.

**-x-**

I was 21 and you were 20 and we were happily dating; life couldn't have gotten any better. Sissi was (finally) off your back, though not completely, because she was still always around us. I will never understand how Odd went from completely hating her, to making goo-goo eyes at her every chance he got. Had I missed something while I was away at college? And William was nowhere to be seen. There was always the occasional fangirl, but nothing could have gotten in the way of our relationship at that point in time – we were blissfully in love. You attended the same college where I studied, and you moved into my one-room apartment with me, because you refused to depend on your parents, who wanted to buy you your own house.

We shared a bed and I slept in your arms every night – not in _that_ sense or anything, but in the sense that I knew I would have a source of warmth and comfort if I ever woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. You were always there for me, even when I woke up crying at five in the morning because I was dreaming about my parents' divorce. I found comfort in the fact that I would always wake up in the warmth of your arms to hear your sleepy '_Good morning'._ You were, and still are, the sweetest boyfriend I could have ever asked for, and I loved you.

**-x-**

I was 22 and you were 21 when we had our first real "lovers' spat". I don't even remember what we were arguing about when I look back it at it now, but I have a nagging suspicion that it had something to do with the reappearance of William Dunbar. We had a really huge argument – even bigger than the one we had when you were supposedly going out with Emily – and I thought that I'd lost you for sure that time.

You moved out of my house and went to live with Odd and his parents. The house just wasn't the same without you; it felt cold, empty and unfamiliar. I never did get used to that feeling of loneliness. I was so used to having you there to comfort me that I still reached out for you in the middle of the night when I had a nightmare – but you weren't there. It broke my heart every time I woke up, panting, to find you gone. I cried myself to sleep so many times, wondering what you were doing or whether you were going out with another girl. I missed you terribly, but we were both too proud to talk to each other.

I blamed myself for our argument, you know – I thought that maybe I wasn't good enough for you or that I'd done something wrong, something that had made you hate me so much. We didn't talk to each other for three weeks – we wouldn't even come within a two-mile radius of each other, for fear of starting another argument.

It wasn't until Odd, Jeremie and Aelita took things into their own hands and locked us both in Odd's basement, that we started talking – and even then, we only spoke because staying silent would have been too awkward. It took us almost an entire day to talk the argument out, to get to the bottom the problem, but we did it – sure, we nearly starved ourselves because Odd, Jeremie and Aelita were too stupid to remember how stubborn we both were and didn't bother leaving us any food, and I nearly dehydrated myself crying, but we made up.

You didn't move back in right away, of course not, and it was awkward at first, like we were starting our relationship over again, starting with the handholding and the kisses on the cheek, but our relationship was better than it was a week and half ago, and that was all that mattered.

**-x-**

I was 24 and you were 23 when we went to the amusement park together for the first time; just the two of us – no Odd, cracking stupid jokes or stealing our cotton candy, no Aelita and Jeremie incessantly talking about things that we would never understand, just the two of us. I had the most amazing time with you; you took me on all the girly rides – the ones that I secretly loved, and forced me to go with you on all the large roller coasters. How many times did I throw up that day? Five or six, at the least. But I had fun. I remember going into the haunted house with you and laughing at how lame it was – nothing is scary when you know martial arts, right?

And you saved the very best for last. That night, you showed me the most beautiful thing that I'd ever seen in my life – I can't believe you took me up in a _ferris wheel_ just so we could see the fireworks; but I'm glad you did, because being there with you, watching the fireworks light up the night with you – that was the most incredible feeling in the world. _You're_ the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me and I wouldn't give you up for the world.

And, just when I thought that it was impossible for me to be any happier, you made it happen; can you imagine just how surprised I was when you dropped down on one knee, ring in hand, and asked me to marry you?

'_Will you marry me, Yumi?'_

And everything around us – the ferris wheel, the fireworks, the beautiful lake below us – none of it seemed to matter anymore, because everything I'd ever wanted was right here, in front of me, staring me in the eye. I was too choked up with tears to say anything, so I kissed you instead, with as much passion and love as I could muster.

It wasn't until we were getting off the ferris wheel that I managed to calm myself down enough to choke out an answer, though the answer itself shouldn't have come as a surprise to you anyways – I loved you, and you loved me – wasn't that enough of an answer for you? Of course, my answer was 'yes'; after all, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I remember the trembles in your hands as you slipped the ring on my finger – a simple gold band, simple, the way you must have known I would have liked it – and the passion in your voice when you told me, again, that you loved me.

'_I love you, Yumi; you're everything I could have ever asked for and all that I'll ever need.'_

It was the absolute sweetest thing that anybody's ever told me – who knew you could be such a romantic? – and I could have kissed you again, but there were too many people standing around, waiting for their turn on the ferris wheel, so we had no choice but to go elsewhere. People were all staring at us and I vaguely recall seeing William among those in the crowd, glaring at us, but I couldn't have cared less, because that night, you made me the happiest woman in the world, and nothing could have dampened my mood.

We went home, back to my apartment and, in a flurry of pent-up emotions and passion, we made love to each other for the first time, in the privacy of my room in my tiny, little apartment; I'd never felt anything like it before – it was like the shattering of glass and the only thing I could think about was you – only you. And nothing could have made me happier than waking up in your arms, pressed against your warm body, and knowing that you would always be there for me.

**-x-**

I can hear the traditional bridal chorus starting, I can see the flower girl (Odd and Sissi's three year old daughter) throwing beautifully pressed rose petals all over the aisle, and I can feel everybody's eyes on me as I take my first step. This is it; I take a deep, cleansing breath as I allow my father to lead me down the aisle and then I realize … none of this matters – all the preparations that our parents made, the dressing up, the make-up, the fancy ceremony – none of it matters.

I never wanted any of it – and I know you didn't either – because the only thing I'll ever want is _you_ – my best friend, my saviour, the love of my life. And when I reach the altar and see the amount of love in your eyes, I suddenly remember why I did it – why I put up with our parents' incessant nagging, why I put up with this ceremony even though it is, in my opinion, wholly unnecessary, why I'm wearing four-inch heels and a white dress that is entirely too frilly – for you. And even though we both find this pointless, it isn't about how fancy the party is or how many guests attend, it's about you, me – us.

And as you slip the ring onto my finger and lean over and kiss me, I know that I will never be happier than I am when I'm with you, because_ that_ is what true love is.

'_I love you, Yumi.'_

'_And I love you, Ulrich.'_

**.  
x  
.**

**E.N.D**

_**A/N:**__ It's two in the morning and I should be doing my bio homework, but whatever. This is probably the longest one-shot that I will _ever_ write. Holy shoot, it's over 7 pages long. I had a lot of fun tampering with this story, so I do hope you enjoy. Feedback is always welcome. :)_


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